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Kickin Country Confusion in Pueblo

For anyone who lives in (or travels through) Southeastern Colorado, Kickin Country has moved yet again, this time from 103.3 to 101.3.

Itís their fourth move over the past two years. They just canít seem settle on a permanent home. Originally they were on 106.9. Then in early 2015, they moved all the way down the dial to a 93.9/94.7 simulcast. And then, from late 2015 to early 2017, they were on 103.3. Now they have moved yet again, this time to 101.3 - KFEZ. Even in the current era of constant format changes, this must set some kind of a record.

The station stands out on the dial because of its loud, rough, distorted audio. Itís well beyond the realm of what you would expect to hear from a professional broadcaster. Give it a listen if you're traveling through the area....you'll see what I mean. I was hoping that they would fix their audio, but itís been like this for a while.

Their new 101.3 signal is the worst of the bunch. It's weak and scratchy on the south end of Pueblo, not what you would expect from a 100-kw station. All of the other frequencies were clearer. Why did they have to move the country music -- yet again??

Itís nice to listen to a local station, but I cannot listen any more because of the distorted audio. Even if the signal was miraculously fixed, I still am not happy about their new format tweaks. The music on Kickin Country is now being interrupted by a yakky home shopping program for long periods of time. The shopping program sounds like something that belongs on an AM station. I like listening to country music but without all of the unnecessary yakkety yack.

Has anyone else been listening to the new Kickin Country??? (it's now on KFEZ 101.3).

I listened to the station last week while dial surfing. I think 101.3 is broadcasting in mono since the "stereo" indicator never came on while I listened. The signal faded out a few times in downtown Colorado Springs. Also, I noticed KJME 890 switched to a nostalgia/oldies format called "890 Yesterday."

The following ad in RadioTVDeals.com sounds like the former KIQN facility on 103.3

Colorado Rated Market(s). Class C1 FM
Description
This station which had been in an LMA is now available for an LMA/TBA only. The station is a Class C1 facility with 100kw ERP. Primary market is ranked #238 and secondary market ranked #90. Better than 347,000 people with greater than 60 dBu signal strength; total LR analysis shows in excess of 550,000, all-in. Owner desires LMA or TBA only, (no sale and no option to purchase) with proposed terms and conditions set forth in Executive Summary. Contact MCH Enterprises for details. The station is complete with office/studio and excellent transmission facilities. Owner will also consider equitable asset exchange; provide details for consideration.

I'm making assumptions, which can be false (such as my assumption that SoCo Radio had anything to do with FabFour8-9-0) but it would seem that the owner of 103.3 wanted too much for SoCo Radio to continue the LMA. So, if you have bushels of cash to burn every month, what would you put on 103.3 that would work in a market drowning in radio signals like Pueblo and the Springs?

Your ad might refer to 103.3, but it could also fit KRYE at 104.9 or KFEZ at 101.3. KRYE has a CP to upgrade to 100,000 watts. With 101.3, its Illinois owner could be looking to bring a better partner on board. In any event, the word around town is that SOCO hadn't been paying anything for their use of the 103.3 and 94.7 facilities for the past several months. When SOCO’s expenses accumulated and spiraled out of control, both stations had to be taken off the air.
Although there are a lot of stations in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, most of them are owned by corporate conglomerates with homogenized, cookie-cutter programming. It was nice to hear something live and local, at least while it lasted.
SOCO's woes aren't limited to 103.3 and 94.7. Their Buzz FM thing on 93.9 is intermittent and unlistenable. 101.3 sounds gravel-y, and it doesn't stay on the air for long. AM 690 has a strange sound to it, probably a phasing issue. SOCO seems to be good at running the Shopping Show. But they are not competent at running anything music-based. In past years, they have tried Smooth Jazz and 70s music on 101.3, Oldies on 94.7, and Hip Hop and Country on 103.3. If a talented radio person with small market experience was at the helm, they might have done well, especially if they were to use some local DJ’s.

I feel bad for the folks at SoCo. They have experienced management, but I don't know about their background in selling to mostly direct retail clients. It's a whole different animal than selling in a typical medium market environment that has a lot of agency buys. The model of paying to LMA many of their signals doesn't seem to be working. Obviously there's a cash flow problem.

Pueblo could use a good news/talk station that has a live morning show at least. But the resources needed to pull that off would be considerable.

If I were SoCo, I'd try to deploy some assets in Fremont County, namely moving the 93.9 translator west towards CaŮon City (which might be tough if you don't actually own it) then have it repeat 101.3 or 103.3 or possibly 94.7. Then again, as a non-fill-in translator, SoCo couldn't own it and repeat one of their own stations. And moving a translator from a larger to a smaller area wouldn't make much sense if you want to sell it later. So, it's probably dead before it starts.

Granted, Fremont County isn't the most robust retail market, but there is less competition. Anything that comes from Cheyenne Mountain experiences varying degrees of multipath unless you're well to the south of the Arkansas River. Cheyenne Mountain FMs unless aided by a translator are basically unlistenable in CaŮon City. In Florence and Penrose they fare better, but they're not great.

I'm making assumptions, which can be false (such as my assumption that SoCo Radio had anything to do with FabFour8-9-0) but it would seem that the owner of 103.3 wanted too much for SoCo Radio to continue the LMA. So, if you have bushels of cash to burn every month, what would you put on 103.3 that would work in a market drowning in radio signals like Pueblo and the Springs?

I don't know if this format would work down here, but I'd do either a Triple-A or Adult Hits/Freeform station.

Yes, I'd agree. There is a hole in Southern Colorado for an AAA station. Something less hard-edged than KILO, and more current than KDZA might work well. KRXP runs its own brand of Alternative Rock, but its dial position near 103.3 might tempt fans of Alternative to tune back and forth between the two stations in an effort to catch a favorite tune.

When I compare Colorado Springs and Pueblo to other smaller cities, this market lacks a good selection of Spanish (Regional Mexican) stations. It's not unusual for smaller cities in the West and Southwest to have four or five Regional Mexican competitors up and down the FM dial. Even though Pueblo has El Tigre (KRYE), its playlist is slow and boring. Some competition would liven things up.